Gazidis: Arsene Armed With Funds

Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gizidis has assured the club’s fans that Arsene Wenger has surplus funds available to spend on big transfers, but also conceded that all the money will only be spent if Wenger believed the signings have the required talent.

The club have been sticking to a strict transfer policy which primarily believes in the fact that rather than buying overpriced players from an inflated market, the club would buy young talents who would render huge returns in the future. Players like Cesc Fabregas, Alex Song, Samir Nasri, Gael Clichy and Robin van Persie have seen huge transfer sums injected into the club after sale to cash-rich clubs.

However, this policy backfired on the board, since developing talents is one thing, and winning trophies with star players being another. Arsenal fans are used to the winning mentality in its players, especially from the glorious era, with players like Thierry Henry, Robert Pires, Dennis Bergkamp and others setting an example for success. Despite the board being responsible for giving Wenger limited funds in the past, the flack has been faced by the manager, and there were rumors of the Frenchman leaving the club for Paris St. Germain, which were squashed later.

Arsenal fans will be relieved and excited at the same time, as they await one of the biggest transfer windows in the past five seasons, only this time, in a positive way. The names being linked with the club have been superstars from the biggest clubs around the world.

Manchester United star Wayne Rooney is one such name, who Wenger has been talking positively about in the local media. Wenger had suggested that Rooney would always be a player who would attract Arsenal’s attention, if he became available, regardless of his poor current form for United.

Fiorentina star Stevan Jovetic is another name that has been heavily linked with the Gunners, and is reportedly one of their prime targets in this window. Along with the Montenegro international, Gonzalo Higuain has also been linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium, after it was confirmed that the striker would be leaving Real Madrid.

According the the Daily Mail, Gazidis said, “The manager is not scared to spend money but he has to believe they are top-class players who will add to the squad.

“Can I guarantee he will spend all of that money? It depends on the talent. The key is having players Arsene believes in, adding them to the squad and making sure he has a cohesive squad he believes in.”

“I accept we haven’t done that over the last few years. We have essentially been very consistent – we haven’t slipped backwards and we haven’t gone forwards. We need to go forwards.”

“It is not enough to be watching a video of a last-minute scramble to get over the line into fourth place. No-one at this club wants that.”